Welcome to the Nutrition Nook! Your go-to weekly newsletter column for Nutrition related information, resources and recipies written by La Trobe student Amy Daglas.
Nutrition at La Trobe is a collaborative health promotion initiative supported by the Health, Wellbeing and Inclusion division supported by Sport, Exercise, and Nutrition Sciences department at La Trobe. It aims to educate the La Trobe community about good nutrition and promote healthy eating habits, while also giving some budget-friendly tips and tricks to eat and shop well.
Breakfast of Champions
Here’s a saying I’m sure you’re familiar with; ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’, and what can we say, it is for good reason that it is true.
Breakfast in Simple Terms:
Breakfast breaks are overnight fast and refuels our supply of glucose (our main energy source) to boost our energy.
Breakfast Benefits:
- Improves energy levels
- Improves concentration levels
- Contributes to body weight management
- Reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease
It is very easy for us to skip breakfast as we are often short on time and rushing to get assignments done. However, our bodies may not have consumed food in over 10 hours by the time we wake up, therefore it is important we replenish what is now empty.
What are the Main Nutrients in Breakfast?
Breakfast allows us to incorporate a wide range of nutrients into our diets first thing in the morning such as:
- Folate – helps our body to have healthy and functional cell growth (spinach, broccoli, seeds and nuts)
- Calcium – keeps our bones and teeth strong (milk, nuts, yoghurt)
- Iron – keeps our energy levels up by carrying oxygen around our body (legumes, nuts, seeds, eggs or baked beans)
- B vitamins – helps maintain our energy (multigrain bread, cereal, kale and eggs)
- Fibre – aids in maintaining our gut health, regulating blood sugars and helps keep you feeling fuller for longer (oats, almonds, walnuts, chia seeds, legumes, fruits and vegetables).
How does Breakfast keep us energised?
Breakfast not only allows us to restore our energy but allows us to maintain our energy throughout the day. Glycogen is the storage of excess glucose (our main source of energy from food) in the body and can be converted back to glucose when our body needs energy.
Glycogen will be used when we are fasting, but if we avoid eating for too long these stores will become depleted and the body will instead start to use energy stores in the form of fat tissue and protein stores. If the body uses protein stores instead of glycogen stores, we start to lose our muscle mass and strength in the body. Breakfast consumption is also important in balancing our blood glucose levels, keeping us fuller for longer when we consume breakfast foods that are high in fibre and protein such as porridge, muesli with fruit or a breakfast burrito bowl.
Why should La Trobe students prioritise breakfast?
Breakfast will help La Trobe us students have better academic performance than students who skip breakfast. This is because breakfast boosts our brainpower, as the energy from food feeds our brain, improving our ability to concentrate, memorise and retain information better.
Overnight Oats Recipe
Short on time? Make our 5-minute overnight oats recipe the night before and be ready to have breakfast on the go the next morning.
Chocolate Overnight Oats:
- 1 cup of rolled oats
- 1 cup of milk (dairy, almond, soy or oat)
- 1 serving of chocolate whey protein (or any flavour of choice)
- 1 teaspoon of chia seeds
- 1 heaped tablespoon of Greek yoghurt
- 1 serving of strawberries or blueberries
- Optional – pepitas, cashews, almonds
Method:
- Combine all of the ingredients except the berries in a jar and stir until combined
- Store in the fridge the night before consumption or make 2-3 hours before
- Top with strawberries and other nuts and seeds such as pepitas, cashews and almonds
Source: Better Health
Want more resources and recipes? Visit the Nutrition at La Trobe website!